Boundaries and scales in shrublands of the Doñana Biological Reserve, southwest Spain

Muñoz-Reinoso, José Carlos

doi:10.1007/s10980-009-9325-0

Cited by 11 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…The number of transects may range from a few short transects for fine-scale studies (e.g., Hobbs 1986;Montana 1992;Müller et al 2012: about 10 transects measuring some tens of meters), through few at intermediate scale (e.g., Dutoit 2007;Stine et al 2011: three to five transects some hundreds of meters long), to just one long (>1 km) transect at larger-scale studies (e.g., Stein and Ludwig 1979;Buxbaum and Vanderbilt 2007;Muñoz-Reinoso 2009).…”

Section: Sampling Design and Measurementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Recognition of the scale-dependence and hierarchical structure of patchiness is crucial to understanding the dynamics and stability of ecological systems (Wu and Levin 1994;Wu and Louchs 1995). Boundaries can be considered as structures of biotic communities that appear to be distinctly organized at different scales (Muñoz-Reinoso 2009). The macro-scale boundaries (hundreds to thousands of kilometers in space) are always determined by a few key factors, such as climate, topography, geology and hydrology (Parks and Mulligan 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Fine-scale characteristics of the boundaries between annual patches and perennial patches in a meadow steppe

et al. 2019

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Context Boundaries are ubiquitous and may have crucial influence on the pattern, process, and dynamics of landscapes. However, there is little understanding of mechanisms that govern changes in the location and composition of boundaries. Especially, it is still uncertain whether there are definite relationships between vegetation and soil. At smaller scales, investigation of more detailed soil and vegetation characteristics can more clearly reveal the linkages between soil properties and vegetation patterns. Objectives We studied fine-scale characteristics of boundaries between two physiognomically distinct patch types, annual patches and perennial patches, in a saline-alkaline grassland. The aims were to examine the relationship between vegetation patterns and soil properties, and to explore mechanisms that govern changes in the location and composition of boundaries. Methods In a 50 ha grassland fenced for more than ten years and where a recovery process had been initiated and where annual grasses were dominating in most salinealkaline areas, we quantitatively characterized the spatial gradients across the visually-identified physiognomic boundary (subsequently adjusted by hierarchical clustering approach) between the annual patches and perennial patches at a fine spatial scale (220 cm × 50 cm transects consisting of 11 quadrats). We statistically defined the boundaries by the Split Moving Window method based on soil and plant variables. We also applied Canonical Correspondence Analysis and Nonmetric Multidimensional Scaling to assess the relationship between the fine-scale functional 3 patterns and soil properties along the studied environmental gradient. Results At fine scale, the vegetation and soil boundaries were well-defined and statistically characterized by a high rate of change, compared to the immediately adjacent areas. The plant characteristics were markedly influenced by soil properties. The alteration of salinity and alkalinity were the most important factors explaining the plant patterns across the patch boundaries. However, physiognomic vegetation boundaries did not fully coincide with the soil boundaries, nor with statisticallydefined boundary in species richness and biomass. There were successional processes of colonization involved in perennials encroachment in the annual patches. Conclusions Underlying soil properties primarily determine the plant patterns of the boundary; the plant succession caused by interspecific competition is superimposed on the plant-soil feedback loop maintaining soil nutrient conditions. These processes ultimately alter the characteristics and locations of patch boundaries in response to changing disturbance regimes. Our findings offer insight into the processes occurring at the boundary and how the boundary may respond to the changes of environmental conditions and drive landscape-level dynamics.

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Section: Sampling Design and Measurementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fine-scale characteristics of the boundaries between annual patches and perennial patches in a meadow steppe

et al. 2019

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“…The term 'scale domain' has however been used by other authors to characterize levels in hierarchical theory and modelling frameworks (e.g. Wu 1999, Pearson & Dawson 2003, Muñoz-Reinoso 2009. The concept of 'scaledependent pattern and process' is arguably of more utility in habitat mapping than attempts to 'detect the right scale' or identify 'scale domains'.…”

Section: Past Current and Future Trends In Benthic Habitat Mappingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial scale and geographic context in benthic habitat mapping: review and future directions

Lecours¹,

Devillers²,

Schneider³

et al. 2015

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

150

123

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Understanding the effects of scale is essential to the understanding of natural ecosystems, particularly in marine environments where sampling is more limited and sporadic than in terrestrial environments. Despite its recognized importance, scale is rarely considered in benthic habitat mapping studies. Lack of explicit statement of scale in the literature is an impediment to better characterization of seafloor pattern and process. This review paper highlights the importance of incorporating ecological scaling and geographical theories in benthic habitat mapping. It reviews notions of ecological scale and benthic habitat mapping, in addition to the way spatial scale influences patterns and processes in benthic habitats. We address how scale is represented in geographic data, how it influences their analysis, and consequently how it influences our understanding of seafloor ecosystems. We conclude that quantification of ecological processes at multiple scales using spatial statistics is needed to gain a better characterization of species−habitat relationships. We offer recommendations on more effective practices in benthic habitat mapping, including sampling that covers multiple spatial scales and that includes as many environmental variables as possible, adopting continuum-based habitat characterization approaches, using statistical analyses that consider the spatial nature of data, and explicit statement of the scale at which the research was conducted. We recommend a set of improved standards for defining benthic habitat. With these standards benthic habitats can be defined as 'areas of seabed that are (geo)statistically significantly different from their surroundings in terms of physical, chemical and biological characteristics, when observed at particular spatial and temporal scales'.

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“…van der Maarel (1990) a foltok közötti lehetséges átmenetek esetében elkülönítette az ökotonokat és ökoklineket, s az ökoton kifejezést a viszonylag éles, míg az ökoklín kifejezést a fokozatos átmenetekre használta. Ez a nevezéktan elméleti célszerűsége ellenére végül nem terjedt el, mivel a gyakorlati alkalmazhatósága kétséges és igen relatív (Jeník 1992, Munoz-Reinoso 2009). …”

Section: Bevezetésunclassified

Gyepközösségek közötti ökotonok dinamikája egyirányú és fluktuáló vízállapot-változások mellett

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Boundaries and scales in shrublands of the Doñana Biological Reserve, southwest Spain

Cited by 11 publications

References 28 publications

Fine-scale characteristics of the boundaries between annual patches and perennial patches in a meadow steppe

Fine-scale characteristics of the boundaries between annual patches and perennial patches in a meadow steppe

Spatial scale and geographic context in benthic habitat mapping: review and future directions

Gyepközösségek közötti ökotonok dinamikája egyirányú és fluktuáló vízállapot-változások mellett

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